Slide and Seek
by Jason Gaston
Summary: Quinn lands on a world where his double is a wanted serial killer, but when they meet this wanted man, they discover that there may be more to this mystery than what meets the eye!


Slide and Seek 

Slide and Seek  
by   
Jason Gaston 

_The following story is part of the Infinite Slides Project, an alternate fourth seaon of _Sliders_ in which five adventurers: Quinn Mallory, Wade Welles, Rembrandt Brown, Professor Maximillian Arturo, and Maggie Beckett travel from world to world looking for a way home. _

Sliders is the property of Universal/Saint Clare and now, thankfully, the Sci-Fi Channel who, in their profound wisdom, has rescued this how from the most evil network in existance. This document may be freely distributed as long as you don't sell it, 'cause if you do... you're on the wrong side of the law, buddy. I haven't made any money off of this either, so please don't sue me.... **I'm just a fan!!!**

* * *

Previously on Infinite Slides

Before his death, Rickman erased the coordinates for Earth Prime from his timer leaving Wade, Rembrandt, Quinn, and Maggie stranded on a technologically sophisticated world where they meet an alternate version of Professor Arturo... a professor Arturo who doesn't know any of them personally. 

Later on in their journey, Wade is forced to kill an alternate version of Steven Jenson, Maggie's late husband, to save Maggie's life. It's been a difficult time for Wade as the guilt of her action has been slowly eating at her and a run-in with the evil Logan Saint Claire caused her to temporarily loose her memory. 

_And now, the continuation..._

* * *

The wind wiped through the tall grass and headstones as Wade stood there watching over the grave of Steven Jenson. Thunder rumbled in the distance and a cold descended over her. She didn't know why she came to the funeral... all she knew was that for some reason, she had to be there. 

Maggie looked as stone faced and cold as she had been when Wade first met her. She was standing over the grave wearing a black veil and make up that made her face look white. 

Quinn and Rembrandt and Max Arturo stood behind her. All appeared quite distraught over the death of a man none of them knew personally. Hell... none of them knew THIS Steven Jenson at all. 

The first time they encountered a Steven Jenson was on Maggie's world... the one that was wiped out by the plusars... the one they had lost the real Arturo on. He and Maggie were husband and wife. Jenson was confined to a wheelchair, the victim of a skiing accident. He had given the sliders the ability to track wormholes and Quinn gave him the ability to form a wormhole and get over a hundred people to safety on a parallel world. 

And that Jenson was killed for his trouble by Angus Rickman. 

The next time they encountered a Steven Jenson, he was a murderous maniac who wanted Maggie dead. And Wade, rather than loose another member of 'the team' shot and killed him. 

Wade pondered that last thought... she killed that Steven Jenson on a parallel world over a month ago... how can she be at his funeral? And a better question would be: Why was she at a funeral for a man that tried to kill Maggie. This was insane! 

Wade walked up to Maggie and put her hand on her shoulder. "Maggie," she began, "something's not right here." 

Maggie Beckett glared at her with a cold stare that made Wade's heart freeze. "Why did you kill him, Wade? You killed the only man I ever loved... You killed him!" 

Wade backed away unsure as to what was going on. "Maggie... I just wanted to save you..." 

"You killed him, Wade," Quinn growled. 

"You took a life," Rembrandt added cryptically. 

"Killed in cold blood," Arturo said. "You're no better than Rickman." 

"No," Wade whispered. "I didn't want to do it! I didn't want to do it!" 

Before Wade knew what was happening, she fell backwards into the open grave and onto the wood-stained casket. She looked up just as the rain began to fall... just in time to see her friends turn and walk away without saying a word. The casket began to shake and the lid flew open. Wade tried to scramble out of the grave, but it seemed impossibly deep... too deep for her to crawl out of. She turned and saw herself crawling out of the coffin decomposing and lifeless covered in dirt and maggots. 

"You killed me, Wade!" the zombie shrieked. 

************************************************************* 

Wade awoke with a start and found herself back in room twelve of the Motel 12. She wiped the sweat from her brow and sighed... she hated nightmares and ever since she had been forced to kill a month ago, it seemed that was all she ever had anymore. She had certainly been through enough to give her nightmares. Killing Jenson... her run-in with Logan Saint Claire that gave her amnesia and cost her friends their ticket back to Earth Prime. She had regained all of her memories... not that it was much comfort to her at all. She hadn't liked what she had been forced to do lately. 

She glanced over her shoulder and saw Rembrandt sitting on the adjacent bed with Arturo sitting in a chair playing solitaire and chuckling at something Rembrandt had said. 

"Well," Arturo said eyeing Wade and smiling. "Nice to see you up and about, my dear." 

Wade smiled back. "Where's Quinn?" 

"With Captain Beckett," Arturo answered. "They are gathering supplies for the next slide." 

"Man, and I thought TV was bad on our world," Rembrandt mumbled as he repeatedly switched channels with the remote. 

It took Wade a moment to remember what the crying man was talking about. The world they had landing on yesterday morning had been dubbed by Quinn as "Moral-less World". Everything about this dimension seemed normal at first until a large difference became apparent... there were no social morals at all. Billboards proudly displayed profanities and prime time television had more nudity and innuendo than the entire run of the _Red Shoe Diaries_. "Rembrandt," she said not bothering to look up. "If it's offending you so bad, why don't you just watch PBS or something?" 

"Girl, this is PBS!" Rembrandt answered barley able to contain a fit of hysteria. "Barney's teaching kids about the birds and the bees." He laughed out loud at last. "...and he's brought pictures!" 

Wade looked up in disbelief. "Oh, that's disgusting!" 

"On the contrary, Miss Welles, I find it fascinating," Max Arturo chuckled from the bed. "I don't know how things were on your home world, but where I came from, people were always whining and complaining about the content of television programming. They were afraid that to allow television to run rampant was to invite chaos and anarchy. And now, here we are on a world where the guests on _Jerry Springer_ are naked and HBO is a hard core porno channel, and it makes no difference whatsoever. No large differences in crime rates... the sky hasn't fallen... and the world hasn't ended." He grinned and repeated, "Extraordinary." 

"It's still disgusting," Wade reasserted as she got up to answer a knock at the door. She peered through the peephole and beheld the distorted images of Quinn Mallory and Maggie Beckett. "Quinn and Maggie are back," she mumbled to herself as she opened the door. 

Maggie rushed past her and went straight to the bathroom. Wade noticed that her hand was bleeding. "What's wrong with her?" Wade asked. 

"Uh, just a little run-in with the locals," Quinn responded. 

Rembrandt sat up. He knew what "run-ins with the natives" could lead to. "What happened?" he asked. 

"It was... the most... rude thing anyone has ever said to me!" Maggie answered over the running water of the bathroom sink. 

Wade crossed her arms and stared at Quinn. "What did she do?" 

"She didn't do anything, Wade," Quinn answered. 

Maggie shut off the water and dabbed a washcloth on her knuckles. "This little weasel had the nerve to tell me I had nice..." She threw the cloth down in frustration. "He told me I..." 

"He told Maggie she had an attractive upper torso," Quinn finished for her. "More or less." 

Wade glanced over at Maggie. "And you...?" 

"Punched the little creep's lights out," Maggie stated. 

Quinn sat Maggie down and tried to calm her down. "Maggie, from now on, you have to exercise more self control. When that guy told you had nice..." 

Maggie shot him a cold stare. 

"...what he said you had," Quinn continued. "It was probably no different than someone on your world saying you have pretty eyes. Different strokes for different folks." 

"Unreal," Rembrandt sighed as he pulled out the timer. "Fifteen minutes. I say the sooner we get off this screwy world the better." 

"Agreed," Arturo said. "So, do you all want to slide from the room or find a nice soft spot outside?" 

Quinn, Maggie, Wade, and Rembrandt looked at each other and then answered at the same time. 

"In the room." 

************************************************************* 

The wormhole opened up in an alleyway out of the public view. It was something the sliders were always thankful for since explaining who they were and how they were able to appear out of a giant blue whirlpool was a little awkward. 

They got up, dusted themselves off, and looked around. Everything looked normal so far. "Well?" Quinn asked Maggie. 

Maggie took a deep breath and waited a few seconds. "I can breathe just fine," she finally said. 

Arturo contemplated that for a moment. "You know, have you ever considered that Captain Beckett's lungs may have adapted to different atmospherical conditions during these slides?" 

"Adapted?" Rembrandt echoed. 

"You all told me that there was something in the atmosphere of Earth Prime... your Earth Prime that prevented Captain Beckett from breathing," Arturo explained. "However, she's never had any trouble breathing on any other world you have encountered." 

"There was that one world with the fog," Maggie reminded them. "I started choking in there... couldn't breathe." 

"No," Quinn said. "None of us could breath in that fog except you... but when you went back in, you started to choke like the rest of us. Maybe Max is right, maybe you are adapting to different atmospheres." "So, what are you saying?" Maggie asked. "Are you saying that if we ever find Earth Prime, I'll be able to breathe there?" 

"We'll just have to wait and see," Wade remarked coldly. 

Maggie looked at her and decided to let the remark roll off of her. 

"Okay," Quinn said. "Let's find out where we are and if we're home." 

They walked out of the alley and onto the street. Rembrandt paused at the window of a music store and stared inside. "Vanilla Ice's Greatest Hits? That's not a good sign." 

Arturo looked across the street. "I say," he began. "Has anyone else noticed the odd stares we've been getting?" 

The others looked where Max was looking and saw what he was talking about. On the other side of the street, groups of people were talking to each other and pointing in the slider's direction. One mother grabbed her daughter by the arm and drug her into a nearby store as if she was afraid for both of their lives. Several other people in the group followed suit while a few of the braver one held their ground and continued to look on. 

"What the hell are they looking at?" Maggie asked no one in particular. 

The sliders walked as a group a little father down the street and noted that the crowd followed them, a few more individuals breaking away and retreating. "They're staring at us, Max," Wade said. 

"No," Rembrant corrected. "They're staring at Q-ball." 

"What do you mean, they're staring at me?" Quinn asked as he whiled around. He saw Rembrandt staring at a television in an electronics store. On the TV there was a picture of Quinn with a series of numbers on the bottom. It was a mug shot. 

"Aw, hell," Quinn mumbled. 

Maggie grabbed Quinn by the arm and drug him into another nearby alleyway. "You guys find out what the hell is going on with Quinn's double" she barked. "I'll get him out of sight. Met us down there!" 

"Who the hell put her in charge?" Wade grumbled. 

"Wade, this isn't the time or the place to start that," Rembrandt scolded her. 

Max, Rembrandt, and Wade strolled right into the electronic store. Rembrandt politely nodded to the manager as Max went to the TV that displayed Quinn's picture. 

"Something I can help you with?" The manager asked. 

"No," Wade answered. "We're just looking." 

"Ah," the manager said smiling as he looked at the television that Max was fiddling with. "The Sony Trinatron 2000. That's a great television to have for a home theater. Crystal clear reception, cable ready, digital..." 

"How do you turn up the blasted volume?" Arturo interrupted. 

"Oh... Wait here," the manager answered. "I'll have to consult the manual." 

The professor looked up in disbelief as the manager disappeared into the back room. "Blistering idiot." 

************************************************************* 

"It's not the first time I've seen my face on a mug shot," Quinn reminisced to Maggie. 

Maggie smirked. "Gee, why am I not surprised to hear that?" 

Maggie had taken Quinn into an alleyway behind the electronic store and hid him in an alcove out of sight of prying eyes. For a little extra insurance, she stood in front of him just in case anyone decided to stroll by. 

"No, I'm serious," Quinn continued. "On our...," he counted on his fingers for a second. "Third or fourth slide we landed on this world where my double was the carrier of a virus. They had his face plastered everywhere." 

"Uh huh," Maggie answered. "Dammit, where are they? I don't like this one bit, Quinn... those people who saw you are bound to call the police if you're some kind of fugitive here." 

Quinn shrugged and glanced down at the timer. "We only have to hold out for about four and a half hours," he said. "Shouldn't be too hard to lay low and..." 

Maggie grabbed him by the head and forcefully kissed him. "Don't move!" she whispered. Through the corner of his eye, Quinn could see three people walk by, laughing and joking amongst themselves. Maggie released him after they left. 

"Sorry," she apologized. 

Quinn laughed uncomfortably. "Gee... seemed like old times there for a second." He immediately wanted to kick himself for saying it. 

Maggie glared at him. Obviously, she wasn't amused. 

They heard footsteps and saw their companions approaching from the street. "Guys, we're in it deep!" 

"So what else is new?" Maggie asked. 

"Quinn's double on this world is an escaped serial killer," Arturo explained. 

Quinn choked when he heard that. Was it possible? 

"He escaped from a police car a few days back and has been at large ever since. There's a million dollar reward for information on his whereabouts," Rembrandt said. "How much do you want to bet those people out of the street turned us in?" 

"Good point," Maggie agreed. 

"My boy, it is imperative that we do not allow the authorities on this world capture you," Arturo said slowly. 

"You don't have to tell me twice," Quinn smirked. 

"I believe I do, Mr. Mallory," Arturo growled. "On this world, the justice system appears to have more in common with the appalling practices of the Salem Witch Trials. Torture is a common and accepted means of forcing a confession out of a suspect." 

"Torture?" Quinn echoed. "That's probably why my double was convicted of..." 

"No," Wade interrupted. "It was your double. They have security camera footage of him leaving the apartments where he killed..." she stopped for a moment as if something was making her nervous. "...where he kill my double. He was covering in blood and holding the murder weapon." 

She turned away and Quinn could tell that she was very distraught over the fact that the Quinn of this world murdered the Wade of this world. 

Maggie decided to break the silence. "We've got to get out of here fast... This is what we're going to do: Everyone get in a huddle... Quinn, you get in the middle and keep your head down. Hopefully, we can get out of the area without anyone seeing us." 

The sliders complied and huddled around Quinn. It was certainly an odd sight seeing five grown people crowd so close to each other... but it was the only option they had. 

"Is this really going to keep people from seeing Quinn?" Wade asked Maggie. 

"Absolutely," Maggie lied. 

************************************************************* 

Wing sighed as he waited for the light to change to green. It seemed to be taking forever and he has hundreds of things he needed to take care of. 

The police scanner in his car crackled. He had made it a habit of carrying one with him considering the company he had been keeping lately. 

"Attention all cars," a female voice announced. "Confirmed sightings of Quinn Mallory in the vicinity of 4th and Chaney. All officers in the area to proceed to 4th and Chaney immediately. Suspect is believed armed and dangerous. Use of lethal force is authorized. Repeat, confirmed sighting of..." 

Wing hit the gas the instant the light turned green and gritted his teeth. "Idiot," he mumbled. "I told him to lay low!" 

************************************************************* 

Quinn's heart almost leaped out of his throat when a police car flew by them with sirens blaring. When it continued down the street he let himself relax a bit... but not much. 

"Guys, this isn't going to work," he whispered. 

"It will if you shut up and stay low," Maggie countered. 

"I can't breathe!" 

"Mr. Mallory," Arturo grumbled. "It's only been ten minutes and you are not the only one suffering. People probably think that we're all members of some bizarre cult or something. If we were not leaving this dimension in a few hours I would be afraid for my reputation." 

They rounded a corner and saw that the street was blocked off and dozens of uniformed police were combing the sidewalks and stores. 

"Back! Back!" Rembrandt ordered as he pushed the entire group back around the corner. "They got the street cordoned off. We need to come up with a plan B!" 

"If torture is accepted practice here, who knows what the penalty of aiding and abetting is!" Quinn argued. "You guys take off, let me try to make a run for it." 

"Quinn, no!" Wade argued. "We don't leave any of the team behind and that goes for you too!" 

"Sorry Wade," Quinn yelled as he exploded out of the group and tried to run across the street. He didn't get very far before almost getting hit by a car which screeched to a halt just before knocking Quinn to the ground. 

"What the hell is wrong with you!?" Maggie screamed as she helped Quinn to his feet. "You're going to get yourself killed!" 

"Let's get out of here before that driver decides to alert the police to our presence here," Arturo said pushing the still dazed Quinn to the sidewalk. 

"Quinn!?" a voice called out from the car. "Where the hell are you going!?" 

Quinn whirled around for he recognized the voice. "Wing!?" 

A young Asian jumped out of the car, virtually leaped over the hood, and took Quinn by the shoulder. "Mallory, what in the hell is wrong with you!? You know damn well that if you went into the city this sort of thing would happen!" 

Quinn was speechless. He didn't know what was going on or why the counterpart of his old friend would be aiding a serial killer. 

"Come on," Wing yelled as he opened the back door of the car. He pulled on the back chairs revealing a small compartment under the seats. "Get in," he ordered. 

"In there!?" Quinn responded aghast. 

"Do you see another compartment that I'm unaware of?" Wing replied sarcastically. 

"I'll never fit!" Quinn protested. 

Wing looked down the street impatiently. "You've fit before, now get it! The pigs'll be here any second!" 

"Don't trust him, Quinn!" Wade pleaded. "There's a price on your head here. For all we know, this guy may be after it!" 

"Wade, I don't think we have any choice," Quinn whispered back. 

"He's right Wade," Maggie said patting her on the back. Wade shook her away and glared at her. Maggie withdrew her hand, pursed her lips, and looked away. Was Wade going to treat her like trash the rest of her life? 

Quinn took a look at the compartment, back at his friends, and then back at the compartment. He didn't like the idea of going with this dimension's version of Wing, but considering the alternative... 

He proceeded to position himself in the compartment awkwardly. It seemed impossibly small and claustrophobic but if his double had done it, he could too. He squeezed himself into the small space. "No... no wait, I can't get my...," Quinn stammered as Wing shut the seat down completely concealing him. 

Wing locked the compartment and stared at the other sliders. "You friends of his?" he asked them. 

"Yes," Wade answered as she got into the car's backseat. 

"Good," Wing said as he got behind the steering wheel. "You guys can help with the cover. Just sit tight and let me do the talking." 

As Maggie and Rembrandt got into the backseat, they could hear muffled cries coming from below them. "Uhh, professor," Rembrandt said apologetically. "maybe you'd better get in the front seat." 

"Under normal circumstances, I would be offended, Mr. Brown," Arturo said calmly as he seating himself in the front passenger seat. 

Wing put the car into drive and slowly drove around the corner and straight to the police barricade where a policewoman motioned for him to roll down his window. Rembrandt noticed that the police on this world wore all black uniforms with black gloves. It made them all look quite sinister. 

"Sir, have you seen this man?" the policewoman asked as she held up a smaller mug shot of Quinn. 

Wing studied the picture. "Yeah, I saw that guy on TV. Mally... or something." 

"Mallory," the officer corrected him. "we got a call from several eyewitnesses that put him in this area. Are you sure you haven't seen him?" 

Wing shook his head. 

"How about you?" the officer asked as she looked at the sliders. 

"Nope," Rembrandt answered for them. 

"Open your trunk please, sir," the policewoman asked. 

Wing took the keys out of the ignition and walked to the backside of the car. The sliders say motionless as he opened the trunk and the police searched inside. After a few seconds, Wing got back in the car and drove away. "Fooled 'em," he announced. "Name's Trevor Wing... just call me Wing. I hate the name, Trevor." 

"Can we let Quinn out now? He's got to be suffocating under there!" Wade asked. 

"No!" Wing snapped. "He stays where he is until we get to where we're going!" He realized he was yelling and took a second to calm down. "Sorry, this whole thing has gotten me a little shaken up. I mean, I can't believe that he was stupid enough to go out into public again. What was he thinking!? He's going to get caught again and when he does, I don't know if I'm going to able to free him again." 

"Again?" Rembrandt said confused. "You're the one who helped him escape from the police car a few days ago." 

Wing nodded. "It wasn't easy. I had to tail them for miles before I had a chance to drop one of the officers." 

"You killed them!?" Wade said in alarm. 

Wing looked at her and crinkled his nose. "No! I didn't kill anyone! I just knocked one of them out while the other was in the can." 

"So why are you helping an escaped serial killer?" Maggie asked frankly. 

"Because," Wing explained. "Quinn Mallory didn't kill anyone." 

Maggie shook her head. "But we caw the security camera..." 

"Quinn didn't kill anyone. I know because I was with him the night that Wade Welles girl got killed. I don't know if someone's out to frame Quinn or if someone doctored the security camera tape to make whoever the killer was look like Quinn... but I know that Quinn didn't kill anyone!" There was an awkward silence for a few seconds. "I knew you wouldn't believe me." 

"On the contrary, Mr. Wing," Arturo said softly. "we believe every word you've said." 

************************************************************* 

"Nice," Maggie sighed sarcastically when Wing drove the car into the garage of the decaying cabin. 

"_Me casa es su casa_," Wing smirked as he turned off the car and got out. "My family's had this place for years but we haven't come up here since I was eight. It's not much, but it's isolated and no one knows about it except Quinn and me..." his face darkened as he watched the others disembark from the vehicle. "...and you guys." 

Wade clawed at the seat cushions trying to release Quinn. "Somebody help me get him out of this thing!" she said impatiently. 

"No, no... look, there's a trick to it," Wing explained as he gently pushed Wade out of the way. He reached under the seat and flipped some kind of a switch. Quinn instantly exploded out of the compartment and sucked in a deep breath. 

"You okay, man?" Rembrandt asked. 

Quinn nodded and rubbed the back of his neck. He was going to have one hell of a crick in his neck in the morning. "Where are we?" 

"What do you mean where are we?" Wing scoffed. 

The door to the house flew open and there stood Quinn Mallory... the Quinn Mallory native to this world, at least. "Wing, what's going on!?" the counterpart asked when he spied everyone in the garage. "Who are...?" He stopped in mid-sentence when he spied Quinn. "What the hell is this? Who are you!?" He looked at the others and his face went as white as a ghost. "W-Wade?" he whispered in a raspy and shocked voice. 

"Wade?" Wing repeated. "Wade-Wade? Dead Wade?" 

Quinn's double nodded, obviously still in shock. 

"Mr. Mallory," Arturo said trying to catch his attention. "My name is Professor Max Arturo and..." 

"Professor, I know who you are," the double replied nervously. "What are you doing here... who are...? Professor... what's going on?" Quinn's double seemed to have been completely overwhelmed by the visitors. And why shouldn't he have been? One was a former teacher... one was a former friend who was long since dead... and another was him. "What's going on?" he repeated. 

"Mr. Mallory," Arturo whispered. "If you have an open mind, we'll tell you." 

************************************************************* 

"Look," Regina said playfully. "I usually don't go around picking up men like this." 

Her companion smiled wryly. "I guess I should consider myself lucky." He looked out the window into the woods. The sun was starting to go down and the brilliant fall colors were fading as darkness invaded. 

Regina took him by the arm and led him to the couch. "So, what do you feel like doing?" 

"...and no one knows you're up here?" the man asked tousling her hair. 

Regina smiled and slapped his hand lightly. "You act as if you're more interested in this cabin than me. No... no one knows I'm here." 

"Great," the man grunted. 

And then before she knew what was happening, he grabbed her by the throat and squeezed as hard as he could. "What are you... doing!?" she screamed. Regina took her hand and shoved her thumb into his eye. 

The man howled in pain and released his hold on her enough for her to escape. She ran right into the kitchen and opened the cabinet. Grouping inside, she finally found what she was searching for... the gun her father kept to protect his family. 

She whirled around just in time to see her "date" charging at her with a large kitchen knife. "No! Get away from me!" she shrieked. She rolled under him and took off out of the cabin. 

'How could I be so wrong about this guy!?' she thought to herself. She had met him in San Francisco... he seemed like a nice guy... he wanted to stay out of public places and suggested that they go somewhere secluded. She was so charmed by him that she actually drove him to her family's cabin. _If I ever get out of this, I swear to god I am never picking up another guy again!_

Something impacted her back and she tumbled to the ground. The man grabbed her by the waist and turned her over. "Why are you running from me?" he said caressing the blade of the knife across her cheek. "You're so beautiful..." 

Regina took several deep breaths and tried to calm herself. He didn't know she had the gun and that would be her advantage. Slowly, she put her finger around the trigger and prepared to raise her arm and blow this bastard away. 

She fired once, but she had never shot a gun before and the force of the blast made her miss her target. The man grunted in pain and then pinned her hand to the ground and wrestled the gun away from her. "What's this!?" the man asked as if he was genuinely hurt. "A gun!? Why do you have a gun?" 

Regina couldn't think of anything else to do. She spit in the man's face. "Go to hell!" she growled. 

The man looked at the gun thoughtfully. "Only if you'll meet me when I get there," he whispered. 

************************************************************* 

There were storm clouds a few miles away so the gunshot didn't alert any of the sliders to any nearby danger. It was just dismissed in the minds of all of them as thunder. 

"This is unbelievable," Quinn's double sighed. "You mean to tell me that you guys are traveling from dimension to dimension and you only landed in this dimension a few hours ago?" 

"Yeah," Rembrandt affirmed. "That's about the gist of it." 

"I know it's difficult to comprehend, Mr. Mallory," Arturo said. "But I assure you..." 

"I believe you," Quinn said. 

Rembrandt sat up. "You do?" 

"Yeah, when all of this trouble started, I was working with my Arturo on an equation to create an anti-gravity device. He had a theory that the equations would lead to a way to cross dimensional barriers." 

"Quinn," Wing said keeping an eye on slider-Quinn. "How do we know these guys aren't responsible for the murders? I mean, for all we know, this guy could be the killer!" 

"You're just going to have to believe us," Quinn said. 

"What if there's another me?" Quinn's double whispered. 

"Another you?" Wing responded. 

"Another slider...," Quinn's double suggested. "What if there's another version of me. I mean, in addition to this guy." 

"You think a psycho Quinn could have invented a sliding machine?" Rembrandt scoffed. 

"Actually," Arturo pondered. "In many cases, serial killers are often described by those who know them as brilliant and charming. Certainly, Mr. Mallory... both Mr. Mallorys fit that description." 

"Thanks," both Quinns said in unison. 

Wing walked over to the window and peered out when the sound of a car permeated the room. "Your friends are back," he announced. 

************************************************************* 

Wade and Maggie had borrowed Wing's car to get food and supplies that Wing had gone to get before he had to go and rescue the person he thought was his Quinn. 

As they pulled into the garage, Maggie looked over at Wade uncomfortably. "Wade, is something wrong?" 

Wade shook her head and smiled. "Why?" 

"Well, for one thing, that's the only word you've said to me during the entire car ride," she explained. "You've been on edge around me for a whole month. Ever since you..." 

"...ever since I murdered Steve Jenson?" Wade snapped. 

"I was going to say ever since you saved my life," Maggie continued. 

Wade could see that Maggie was genuinely trying to help her. But she still had so much deep seeded hatred inside of her... and the fact that Maggie all of the sudden went from being _Tank Girl Slut From Hell_ to normal was tearing her apart. "Look, it's nothing." 

"You sure?" 

"Yes!" Wade snapped. "I'm sure!" 

************************************************************* 

"We're back," Wade announced as she pushed the door open with her free hand. She was carrying a loaded bag of groceries. Maggie cam in after her carrying two bags. "Who's hungry?" 

"I haven't eaten in ages," Max Arturo said as he got up and rubbed his hands together. He reached into the bag and picked up a bag of white powdered doughnuts. "What the devil is this?" 

"Beggars can't be choosers professor," Maggie quipped. 

"Yeah, well... it's more than I'm used to," Quinn's double said as he took the bag from Arturo. 

Wing suddenly shot out of his seat. "Guys, I hear a car." 

"You're paranoid," Arturo replied. 

"No," Maggie whispered. "I hear it too... It's coming up the driveway." 

Wing looked out the window and turned to the others. "Cops," he said. 

"Hell," Quinn's double said as he took Quinn by the shoulder. "Come on, there's a hideout in the basement. They won't be able to find us down there." 

Both Quinns went downstairs and Wing grabbed the sacks of groceries and put them underneath the kitchen sink. "Let's get out of here," he said. "I don't feel like answering a lot of uncomfortable questions." 

"No argument here, man," Rembrandt said. 

************************************************************* 

Quinn's double pulled a desk away from the wall and pushed on a section revealing a crawlspace. "You think there's room for both of us?" 

Quinn double shook his head. "I don't think so. You hide in here... there's another hiding place in the closet ceiling. It'll be tough, but I can get in it." 

Quinn got into the crawlspace and his double pushed the wall shut. "Good luck Quinn," Quinn said. 

"You too, Quinn," Quinn answered. 

************************************************************* 

Wing and the sliders ran out into the forest concealing themselves in the darkness. Fortunately, there only appeared to be two policemen and they appeared to be on their own time. 

When they reached a place where they could both lay low and keep an eye on the cabin, Maggie decided to protest. "They should have come with us!" she barked. "It was stupid to leave them there!" 

"Trust me," Wing reassured her. "Quinn's hid in that cabin while a SWAT team went over the place. If they lay low and keep quiet, they should be fine!" 

"I'm sure they will, Mr. Wing," Arturo said softly while casting Maggie a glance telling her to back off. "In the meantime, I suggest we should all get out of here. It will look most suspicious if a former friend, professor, and victim of Mr. Mallory's were hiding nearby." 

"Good idea," Wing responded. 

The entire group got up and strolled further into the woods. "I don't get it," Wade whispered to Wing. "Why only two cops? Why not send more if you Quinn's a wanted felon?" 

"I guess they figure a million dollars splits well between two people," he sighed. "They're probably out here on their own time hoping that they get lucky and catch him. It's not the first time it's happened and probably won't be the last." 

************************************************************* 

Quinn Mallory held his breath as he heard the door to the basement open and footsteps come inside. 

"This is stupid, Ammons," one of the voices "How many times have we gone through this place? A hundred? Mallory ain't here and we're only going to be egging on a lawsuit from the Wing family." 

"I'm telling you, he's got to come here," Ammons replied. "I can feel it. Trevor Wing and Quinn Mallory were best friends at California University... now Trevor keeps a low profile and is never home. I'm telling you, Mallory and Wing are working together. Following his car here is going to lead us to that murdering bastard." 

"We're lucky Trevor Wing's not here," the other officer sighed. "He could be back any second... You're going to get us sued." 

"I'm going to get us rich," Ammons said with a crooked smile He sit down on the desk that covered Quinn's hiding space. It made the fake wall creak and made Quinn swallow hard in fear that it would lead the police to discover his sanctuary. "Don't worry about it, Lilly." 

Lilly huffed. "If the Wings decide to go after us, they'll nail us." 

"On what?" 

Lilly counted the offenses on his fingers. "Trespassing, Breaking and Entering, Harassment, Conspiracy..." 

Ammons waved him off and looked around. "Fine, if you're going to cry about it, let's just leave." 

Quinn sighed in relief... and then noticed that something with a lot of legs was crawling on his arm. Something big. 

************************************************************* 

Wade let out a small yelp as she fell to the ground. Wing and the other sliders immediately rushed to her aid. "Miss Welles, are you all right?" Arturo asked as he rushed to her. 

"Yeah, I just tripped over something," she said smiling. She noticed that Arturo was no longer looking at her but rather at whatever she tripped over. 

"Good god," Rembrandt gasped. 

Wade looked over her shoulder and almost jumped out of her skin. She had tripped over a dead body. Wade scrambled to get up and almost fell again. Rembrandt caught her and held on to her tightly. 

"She's been shot!" Wing gasped. 

Arturo looked at his furiously and Wing knew what he was thinking. "Professor, Quinn... my Quinn didn't do this. he couldn't have done it!" He looked around the body and pointed to her watch. The face had been shattered and the hands had been bent and were no longer moving. "It says eight thirty... Quinn was with you when it was broken." 

"I see... Also the killer's MO is to use a knife and not a handgun. Circumstantial evidence, Mr. Wing," Arturo pointed out. "But evidence none the less... My friends, there is a killer in the vicinity. Question is... who is it?" 

"Better question," Maggie growled. "Where is he?" 

************************************************************* 

Whatever was crawling on Quinn's arm was bothering him more than he would care to admit to any of his friends. Truth was he hated bugs so he decided to brush the offensive insect off of his arm while the two vigilante policemen argued just three feet from him. However, that was the worst thing he could have done for no sooner had he touched the insect than a sharp burning sensation shot through his hand. Whatever shared his hiding place had stung him... hard. 

Quinn gritted his teeth. The pain was unbearable and it was all he could do to not cry out in pain. He couldn't. Not until the police had left. 

He could hear his own heartbeat and could barly make out what the cops were saying over the increasing throbbing. _What bit me?_ he wondered. 

And then, as if to answer him, he was stung again on the forearm. Quinn did all he could not to make a sound, but as the pain escalated, his leg straighten and kicked the wall of his hideaway... it was a reflex and Quinn couldn't have stopped it if he tried. 

"Did you hear that?" The officer named Lilly asked as he took a step in Quinn's general direction. 

"Probably just the house settling," Ammons said. 

Lilly dragged the desk from away from the wall and traced the light outline of the fake wall. "Ammons, what do you make of this?" 

Quinn shut his eyes and prepared for the worst. 

And then the worst came... 

Light exploded into Quinn's hideaway as the fake wall was torn away. The surprised Lilly pulled his gun and pointed it at him while Ammons wrestled Quinn out of the hiding space. 

"Well, happy birthday to me," Ammons said jovially. "Mr. Mallory, you have the right to remain silent... if you wave that right, it will be held against you in a court of law. You..." Ammons cocked his head when Quinn tried to get to his feet but ended up collapsing. 

What is wrong with me? Quinn wondered. 

"What's wrong with him?" Ammons asked. 

Lilly looked in the crawlspace and kicked out a small orange scorpion. "Look at this," Lilly laughed. "I'd say the killer got his butt kicked by a bug." Lilly crushed the arachnid under his boot. 

Quinn's head was spinning as the scorpion's venom was circulated through his body. He had been bitten by a scorpion before and experienced the same sensation... it wore off within a couple of hours. Probably some sort of mild allergic reaction. 

Ammons continued to read Quinn his rights and ended with: "...and may God have mercy on you because I can promise you no one else will." 

************************************************************* 

Wade had seen death before but never like this before. The dead girl was too young to have her life taken away like this. 

"Normally, I would suggest we call the police," Arturo said. 

"We can't" Wing protested. "We call the police and they find me here, they'll..." 

"Guys, guys, guys!" Rembrandt yelled. "There is a dead girl here. Can't we focus on that!?" 

"We are Rembrandt," Maggie said. "But we also have to focus on Quinn and Quinn's counterpart. Our first responsibility is to the living." 

Wing looked through the trees and saw the headlights of the police car turn on. "I think the cops are leaving." 

************************************************************* 

Quinn's double looked out of his closet hideout. He had listened in horror as the police hauled his innocent counterpart out of the crawlspace and out the door. He had to help him... he had to do something! He tried to jump out of the closet ceiling, but something went wrong and his foot hung on a beam and he ended up landing head first on the hard wood floor and for a few seconds, he blacked out. 

************************************************************* 

Maggie stopped dead in her tracks and motioned for everyone else in the group to do the same. "They've got Quinn!" 

"What!?" Wade cried out. "Which one?" 

Maggie watched as the cops shoved Quinn into the police car. "Ours," she finally said. 

"We've got to do something," Wade gasped. 

The police car began to pull slowly out of the driveway. "Okay, look...," Wing said. "The road in these woods snake all over the place. If we take off right now, we can catch up to them when the road curves back around." 

"And do what?" Maggie asked. 

Wing threw up his hands. "Improvise!" 

"That's what I've been told sliding is about," she mumbled. "Wade, you the others stay here. Wing and I..." 

"Why the hell should I stay here?" Wade protested. "I can be every bit as helpful as you can." 

"Wade," Maggie said softly. "Please... stay here." 

"We don't have a lot of time, here!" Wing yelled as he took off into the woods. Wade glared at Maggie as she ran off after him. 

Rembrandt tapped Wade and Arturo on the arms and pointed back at the cabin. "Guys... it's Quinn." 

Quinn's double wandered out of the cabin in a daze... he looked more like a zombie than a human being. His arm had been cut and there was blood running down his fingertips. 

"He looks hurt," Arturo said. "Come on, let's go help him." Arturo and the others walked briskly to the other Quinn. As they did, the professor took the timer from his pocket and looked at the display. "Twenty minutes," he told Rembrandt. 

"Maggie better hurry," Remmy answered. 

************************************************************* 

Maggie and Wing arrived at the point where the road sharply, rather unnecessarily, and thankfully curved backwards into the forest. Maggie bent down catching her breath after her intense run and then looked down the road. "Did we beat them here?" 

Wing nodded equally as winded as the captain was. "I think so... what do you think we should do to stop them?" 

"I don't suppose you brought a gun with you?" Maggie asked. 

Wing shook his head. "I hate guns." 

"Everybody hates guns," Maggie grumbled. "What do you have in mind?" 

Wing stroked his chin and eyes Maggie thoughtfully. "I think we need a roadblock." He smirked. "A rather attractive one at that." 

Maggie raised an eyebrow. "Why are you looking at me like that?" 

************************************************************* 

"Mr. Mallory, are you okay?" Arturo asked the injured double. 

Quinn seemed to stare out into nothingness. 

"Quinn, are you hurt?" Wade said snapping her fingers in front of his face. 

That seemed to snap the counterpart back to attention. "Huh..!? I had an accident... That's all... just an accident." 

"Look," Rembrandt said trying to get the other Quinn to sit down on the porch. "The cops nabbed Quinn." 

"They did?" he asked not sounded as if he was totally paying attention. 

"It gets worse, I'm afraid..." Arturo continued. "I'm afraid that there is a murderer in the area. We ran across his handiwork in the woods. We don't know if it's this killer double that you think exists, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility." 

The other Quinn just nodded. 

"Look," Wade said. "When we get Quinn back, we'll take you with us." 

"With us?" the double echoed. 

"To a parallel earth," Rembrandt said. "One where you'll be safe." 

"I'd like that," Quinn said rubbing his injured arm. "I'd like that a lot." 

************************************************************* 

The police car slowed to a stop when Lilly spotted something unusual lying in the middle of the road. Rather, someone unusual. 

"Now what?" Ammon grumbled. 

"Come on," Lilly whispered. "We'd better at least see if she's all right." 

The two officers got out of the car, approached Maggie, and gently rolled her onto her back. "She's still breathing," Ammons noted. "Miss? Miss, are you all right?" 

Maggie opened her eyes and smiled playfully. "I am now," she said in a breathy voice. 

Neither of the two officers knew exactly what to do... laugh or get angry. What was with this girl? 

"Look Miss," Ammons finally said. "I don't know what you're game is, but you'd better-" 

That was as far as he got before Wing nailed him over the head with a large rock. The officer fell unconscious onto the unexpecting Maggie who got the breath knocked out of her by the overweight policeman. 

Wing tried to dispatch Lilly as well, but got a rather nasty surprise when the officer jumped out of the way and kicked the makeshift weapon out of his hand. Wing deduced that he had knocked the wrong officer out and decided to give him a good old fashioned punch. Lilly caught Wings hand and threw him over his shoulder slamming him into the hood of the police car. "My luck," Wing wheezed. "I get the Bruce Lee wannabe!" 

Lilly grinned a bit and reached for his gun but not before Maggie rammed him from behind. Somehow, the cop managed to keep his hold on the weapon and tried to use it. Fortunately, Maggie saw what he was trying to do and took measures to make sure he would not be successful. Both of them wrestled for the gun madly. 

"You know," Lilly shouted as the wrestled for the gun. "You fight pretty good for a little girl!" 

Maggie sneered in his face. "Funny, I was about to say the same thing about you." 

They fell to the ground and the gun went off harmlessly into the air. 

************************************************************* 

"What the devil was that!?" Arturo said jumping at the sound of the distant bang. 

"Gunshot," Rembrandt whispered. His eyes went wide as the worst case scenario dawned on him. "Maggie!" 

"Dear lord," Arturo said getting up. He took the timer out of his coat pocket and plunked it into Wade's hand. Then they began to run into the wood towards where Wing and Maggie had gone. "Wade, you stay here and tend to Mr. Mallory," he called out. "Mr. Brown and I will take care of Mr. Mallory and Captain Beckett!" 

Wade watched them both disappear into the darkness. Her stomach was tied up in knots of anticipation. "_Dammit to Hell!_" he scream out in frustration. 

"They'll be okay," Quinn's double assured her as id he could sense her thoughts. 

Wade looked at him and put on a forced smile and a hollow laugh. "This entire slide's been a nightmare...," she said. "Quinn being a wanted murderer... finding that girl out there in the woods. I just... I can't stop thinking about it. I mean... she was just lying there as if her life meant nothing! I've never seen anything so horrible." 

Quinn touched her shoulder reassuringly. "I know," he whispered. "Seeing her shot up like that... Wade, you're not the kind of person who should be exposed to anything like that. You're such a gentle soul. I... I can see why you'd be upset." 

Quinn's double softly hugged her and she finally allowed herself to sob a bit. "I'm not a gentle soul, Quinn... Not anymore. Not anymore... not after what I did. Not after I killed him..." 

"Killed who?" the other Quinn asked in confusion at the turn in the conversation. 

Wade pushed him away. "Nothing... It's nothing. Don't worry about it. It happened a while back. It's... nothing." 

************************************************************* 

Maggie and Lilly struggled for the gun. Lilly popped Maggie in the face pretty hard but managed to shake it off. She didn't have time to worry about it. The officer she was fighting had been trained well in hand to hand combat, but she knew that she was better. She had to be. 

She slammed his hand onto the ground and the gun finally tumbled harmlessly into the darkness. The odds were now even. 

And then there was the sound of a thud and Lilly dropped to the ground. Maggie backed up a bit, unsure as to what just happened, but a sigh of relief escaped her lips when she saw Rembrandt standing there over the fallen officer with a clenched fist. 

"You okay, Maggie?" he asked her. 

Maggie wiped some blood from her upper lip. "I've been better." She brushed her hand against her nose and noticed that's where the blood was coming from. "Hmm... I must be slipping. He touched me." 

Maggie walked over to the car and pulled Wing to his feet. "You okay?" 

Wing held his head and nodded. "Fine...," he said unconvincingly. 

Arturo jogged in from the forest. "Am I too late?" he asked. 

Maggie and Rembrandt didn't say anything. They just went to the police car and tried to open the door. "Locked," Maggie grumbled. She knocked an the window trying to get Quinn's attention. 

Quinn looked drowsy and sick, still suffering from the reaction to the scorpion stings. 

"Let's get him out of there," Arturo ordered. 

Then there was the click of gun cocking behind them. Maggie muttered a curse... she definitely was slipping. The group turned around and saw Officer Ammons holding his gun on all of the sliders. "Now," he said. "You are under arrest... all of you!" 

************************************************************* 

"What is taking them so long!?" Wade wondered out loud. She glanced at the timer and sighed. "They've only got fifteen minutes left." 

"They'll be back," the double reassured her. "Don't worry about them." He paused a moment. "You're still very beautiful." 

Wade's face darkened. "What did you say?" 

"I'm sorry," Quinn's double whispered. "It's just that... My Wade's gone forever and I just... well, seeing you standing here..." He sucked in a breath and turned away. "I'm sorry." 

Wade felt like kicking herself. She hadn't even considered the possibility that Quinn and herself had been involved on this world... and now here she was... thrust into the life of someone who had lost her. "No, I'm sorry... I didn't know. I didn't think about it." 

"It's okay," the double said smiling. "You're still beautiful." 

He lean foreword and kissed her lightly. When he leaned back, Wade was glaring at him. "What's wrong?" he asked. 

"How did you know?" she asked. 

Quinn shook his head. "Know what?" 

"The girl in the woods," she said getting up. "How did you know that she had been shot?" 

"What?" he repeated. 

"You couldn't have known that she had been shot," she growled. "No one told you!" 

"I just guessed, okay?" he stated, "Jeez, Wade, you're being paranoid." 

No sooner had he said that when Quinn busted out of the front door. "Wade, they got Quinn! He..." Quinn saw the other Quinn and stopped. "How did you get free?" he asked confused. 

The Quinn that had been speaking to Wade responded by pulling out and gun and firing at his counterpart. Quinn was hit in the shoulder and fell back into the house crying out in agony. 

Wade screamed when the gun was fired and began to inch away as fast as she could without alerting the killer. 

The killer grinned and looked at her. "Sorry," he apologized. "He interrupted my train of thought. Where were we? Oh yes..." he took a small kitchen knife out of his pocket and started after Wade. "So beautiful." 

Wade tore away as fast as she could into the woods and the killer gave a hot pursuit. Wade knew it would be inevitable that the other Quinn would catch her because Quinn... her Quinn... could outrun her any day. 

************************************************************* 

"Stay there!" Ammons barked. He lined Rembrandt, Maggie, Arturo, and Wing against the car. 

Arturo held up his hands submissively. "Officer, if you will just give us a chance to explain, we..." 

Ammons pushed Arturo back against the car. "I don't need anything explained to me! You're the ones who helped Mallory escape last time! You are all going down for this!" 

"That's not true!" Rembrandt protested. 

Quinn banged on the glass window. "Officer, I have never seen these people in my life." 

"Shut up, Quinn!" Maggie yelled. 

"I've been working alone!" Quinn continued. 

Maggie struck her fist up against the window making Quinn jump back rubbing his nose. "SHUT UP QUINN!!!" 

Then there was the sound of a gunshot. 

"What the hell...!?" Ammons said. 

And then there was a distant scream. 

"Wade!" Rembrandt gasped. 

Arturo's jaw opened. "The killer!" 

"Who?" Ammons asked. 

Maggie took advantage of Ammon's momentary distraction and tried to knock the gun out of his hand again. Ammons managed to dodge the assault and was about to shoot Maggie for her trouble. However, the last thing he saw was the refined but massive fist of Max Arturo. 

"Thanks Max," she said before she picked up Ammon's gun and ran at full speed into the woods after Wade. 

************************************************************* 

Wade could hear the footfalls of the person chasing her. She knew that within seconds she would feel the cold steel driving into her back and then she would never feel another thing. Ever. 

Her heart was racing as she jumped over a small bush. She landed wrong and twisted her ankle. as he fell to the ground, she thought, _Oh great, this is how I'm going to die! Like some dumb victim in a Jason movie._

She tried to get up but the other Quinn jumped on her and held her down. "Why are you running from me?" he asked. "I don't want to hurt you." 

Wade struggled. "Why are you doing this!?" she screamed at him. 

The killer caressed Wade's face... something that made her cower. "I don't come from here, you know... I come from another world too. One where killers, rapists, and murderers are sent to rot on a dessert prison planet." He laughed a bit. "But something went wrong with my slide and I ended up here... on this Earth." He touched Wade's lips and smiled. "You're so beautiful. Just like the last Wade... and just like the first." 

Anger welled up inside her. She bit his finger as hard as she could and the killer screamed in agony. As he struggled to get free, something toppled to the ground. It was the gun. 

Wade picked it up and scrambled to get to her feet. "Don't move!" she yelled. 

The killer held his bleeding hand and smiled wryly. "You're not a killer, Wade... you don't have that kind of soul." 

Wade glanced down at the gun and then back at the double of Quinn. It was all going through her mind again. Jenson... the gunshot that ended his life. The gun she had fired had killed a man and now she was back in the same situation. She was about to be forced to kill again. 

Quinn's insane double charged at her, there was a loud bang and the other Quinn fell to the ground. Wade gasped... it had all happened again. She was a killer. 

"Wade, are you okay?" A voice asked. 

Wade opened her eyes and saw Maggie standing behind the killer's body. In her hands was a still smoking gun. 

"Wade, are you okay?" she said again. 

Wade looked at the gun in her shaking hand and threw it to the ground. She fell to her knees and buried her head in her hands sobbing uncontrollably. 

Maggie ran to her. "Wade, are you hurt? Did he hurt you?" She put her arms around Wade's shoulders. "Wade, it's okay... He can't hurt you." 

"Maggie, I'm sorry!" Wade cried. 

Maggie didn't know what Wade was saying. "Sorry?" 

"I'm sorry I killed Steven... I'm so sorry!" She embraced Maggie and held her tightly. "I'm sorry..." 

"Wade," Maggie said pushing on her a bit. "You saved my life. You don't have to apologize for that." 

"Yes...," Wade sobbed. "Yes I do. I have to apologize to someone and someone has to tell me it's all right. And I want it to be you!" 

Maggie hugged Wade back. "It's okay, Wade... It's okay... I forgive you. I forgive you." 

And the two of them held on to each other in the darkness. Neither one of them let go until they heard their friends calling out after them. 

************************************************************* 

Quinn's double whinced as he sat up. His shoulder had been bandaged by Wade, but the gunshot had temporarily rendered his arm useless. It didn't matter to him one iota. He was free. The world that wanted him dead was nothing but a memory. He and Wing had slid with the sliders almost two days ago. They left the killer's body where it had lied and assumed that officer's Lilly and Ammons would find it and take the credit and collect their million. 

"Hey man, how are you feeling?" Wing asked him. 

Quinn's double sighed. "I've been shot, knocked in the head, and left my homeworld behind. I've never felt better." 

Quinn Mallory walked by. He was putting on a jacket. "Listen," he said to his counterpart. "We slide out of here in a thirty minutes. Are you guys sure this is where you want to stay?" 

Wing nodded. "Yeah, this world isn't so bad. It'll take a bit of getting used to, but I think we can manage." 

Quinn looked out the window of the Motel 12 at the two moons hanging over the horizon. One was the regular moon, the other was a peanut shaped asteroid that became trapped in orbit over two hundred years ago. Other than the extra moon there were a few other differences... John F. Kennedy Jr. was the president of the North American Federation, smoking and alcohol was forbidden (that didn't bother Quinn's double or Wing since neither of them smoked or drank), and the architecture of this world seemed to intertwine with nature instead of stepping on it. The city of San Francisco was more of a giant park than the city the sliders came from. But most important of all, no one on this earth had ever heard the name Quinn Mallory or Trevor Wing. 

"It'll do," Quinn's double smiled. "Where's Wade? I wanted to tell her good-bye." 

"Wade and Captain Beckett said they'd meet us in Golden Gate Park by the statue of Lincoln," Arturo answered. He bit his tongue and realized he had misspoke. "I mean by the statue of Andrew Jackson." 

"Listen guys, we'd better go," Rembrandt said opening the door and giving a quick good-bye to Wing and Quinn's double. 

Arturo and Quinn followed. "You guys take care of yourselves," Quinn called out. 

Wing grinned and watched them go. Quinn's doubled waved with his good arm. 

"Uh-oh, Maggie and Wade together? Alone?" Rembrandt mused to himself in the hallway. "I hope they don't hurt each other two much. I'd hate to have to bandage them up too." 

"Actually," Quinn said. "They seemed to be in a good mood when they left. Maybe it'll last." 

Arturo, Quinn, and Rembrandt took a look at each other. "Nah," they said together. 

************************************************************* 

"Look," Wade said to Maggie as they walked along the shady path in the middle of Golden Gate Park. "I just wanted to thank you for not telling the others about... well... about what I did after..." 

"Don't worry about it," Maggie answered. "As far as I'm concerned it was something private and none of their business." 

"I'm just glad that you were there," Wade said. "I don't know if I could have lived with myself if I had to have shot that other Quinn." 

"You wouldn't have shot him," Maggie casually stated. 

Wade stopped and looked at her. "What?" 

Maggie turned to her. "Wade, when I found you in the forest, that killer-Quinn was almost on top of you and you were just standing there pointing that gun at him. Wade, I knew you weren't going to shoot him." 

Wade shook her head. "Maggie, I would have..." 

Maggie grabbed Wade by the shoulder. "Wade, you were willing to kill to save my life but you weren't going to kill to save your own. I admire that, Wade. Believe it or not, I admire that. I mean, life is precious to you. It doesn't matter to you if it's the life of a killer or one of your friends. You have a good soul." 

Wade was speechless. "Maggie, I... I wanted to say thank you." 

Maggie cocked her head and smiled. "Now what for?" 

"You were there for me in the woods," Wade answered. "I had the first decent night's sleep in a month. No nightmares... no nothing. I think that telling you that I was sorry killed whatever demon that was born in my mind ever since I killed that double of Steven." 

Maggie patted Wade on the back and smiled. "You're welcome." 

"One other thing," Wade said. "I realize that here lately I've been acting like the psycho bitch... at least to you. I've had a lot of bottled up anger left over from before... you know... before you found out what Rickman had done to you." 

Maggie crossed her arms and looked down. Obviously, the thought of it was still painful. 

"Anyway," Wade continued. "I just want you to know that it's over. I'm through resenting you, I'm though hating you. As far as I'm concerned, 'Tank Girl' is dead." 

"Tank Girl?" Maggie asked. 

Wade rolled her eyes and smiled. "Oh, that's a little nickname I cooked up for you." 

"I see," Maggie said emotionlessly. 

"Anyway," Wade continued again. "I want to start over again." She extended her hand and offered it. 

Maggie grasped her hand and shook it. "Agreed." 

They both started back down the path towards the statue of Andrew Jackson. "Who knows," Maggie said. "Maybe, after a while, we can become actual friends." 

Wade and Maggie stopped, looked at each other, and grimaced. "Nah," they both said. 

And laughing, the two sliders walked down the path to meet their friends... and their destiny. 

THE END 


End file.
